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UCM President Reaches Out with First Tweet Chat, #askAmbrose

Contact: Jeff MurphyWARRENSBURG, MO (Jan. 31, 2013) –Believed to be the first event of its kind on any college campus, University of Central Missouri President Charles Ambrose is planning a live, two-hour Tweet Chat with students beginning at noon Tuesday, Feb. 12.

Ambrose, who became UCM president in 2010, has a widely known reputation for using Twitter to connect with the university community on topics ranging from vital higher education matters to rallying student and community support for the Mules and Jennies athletic teams. The Tweet Chat via Twitter will provide an open forum for the president to receive and answer questions from students, and to share information about other important issues. Although the event is geared toward students, anyone who is interested in UCM is welcome to join the conversation. Questions can be tweeted to the president at @UCMAmbrose, or by using the hashtag #askAmbrose. Twitter users can also follow the conversation by setting up a stream with the hashtag.

Robin Krause, director of marketing and promotions in the Office of University Relations, said a number of college presidents nationally use Twitter to communicate with certain audiences. He believes this may be the first formal event of its kind at any college or university. He also added that participating in a Tweet Chat to engage students is highly characteristic of UCM’s leader.

“During his presidency, Dr. Ambrose always places a high priority on being accessible to students. He has more than 1,500 followers on Twitter, but he also knows many students personally by helping them on move-in days, attending lunches in the residence halls, sitting in the student sections at sporting events and occasionally scheduling ‘walk-and-talks’ with UCM students to downtown. They know he cares about them and what they have on their mind.”

Ambrose said, “This is a tremendous opportunity to reach students on their own technology turf. Social media play a huge role in the lives of young people, it only makes sense, if you want to engage in a conversation with students, Twitter is a great place to do it.”

President Ambrose pointed out that a recent social media night at the Jennies and Mules basketball games demonstrated the value of Twitter in terms of student engagement. The game night attendance of 4,200 people at #teamUCM Night at the Blackout Game was up 26 percent above regular game attendance.